According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, thousands of pedestrians are killed every year in pedestrian vehicle accidents. One way to decrease the number of accidents between pedestrians and vehicles is to provide designated crosswalks for pedestrians to safely cross a street. Frequently, crosswalks are provided with traffic signals to control the flow of traffic on the road which the crosswalk crosses. In order for a pedestrian to signal the traffic signal that they are waiting to cross the street, an accessible pedestrian signal can be provided. The accessible pedestrian signal can have a button that is pressed by a pedestrian that sends a signal to the traffic signal to stop traffic for a period of time to allow the pedestrian to safely cross the street. It can also have features that make it easy to find and use by visually-impaired or otherwise physically-challenged pedestrians, such as a speaker to provide a locating tone and verbal instructions, reflective materials and large symbols and print. Often these features are standardized and governed by state or local regulations. While audio output is extremely useful to visually-impaired pedestrians, it also can attract negative attention such as from vandals or people who lean against or pull on the signal structure, even if they do not intend to damage it.
In some instances the button can be located on a standalone pedestal, such as to be located conveniently for the pedestrian. A standalone pedestal has a risk of being damaged, such as being struck by a car, snowplow or other vehicle or being vandalized. If a pedestal is damaged it can become defective and not able to send a signal to a traffic signal that a pedestrian desires to have traffic stopped in order to safely use a crosswalk, thereby creating a hazardous situation if the pedestrian attempts to cross the street. The process to replace or fix a pedestal can be expensive and time consuming. Weather conditions can also affect the ability to replace or fix a pedestal.
Accordingly, there is a need for an accessible pedestrian signal that is more readily replaceable.